Cost of 30k servicing for 2004 Forester

[tenplay]

I recently had the 30k servicing done by a local mechanic, who was
recommended to me by my son. The reason I called him was that I was
surprised by the $632 + tax price quoted to me by my local Subaru
dealership. Anyway he charged me $220 incl tax. The disparity in
prices is huge. I hope this mechanic wasn't cutting corners, but my car
seems to be running fine. He charged me for two hours of labor whereas
the dealer rep told me that it would take six hours of labor. Is the
dealer price the standard or were they trying to grossly overcharge me?
I wonder how much you had to pay for the same 30k servicing.

 

[Todd H.]

I recently had the 30k servicing done by a local mechanic, who was
recommended to me by my son. The reason I called him was that I was
surprised by the $632 + tax price quoted to me by my local Subaru
dealership. Anyway he charged me $220 incl tax. The disparity in
prices is huge. I hope this mechanic wasn't cutting corners, but my
car seems to be running fine. He charged me for two hours of labor
whereas the dealer rep told me that it would take six hours of labor.
Is the dealer price the standard or were they trying to grossly
overcharge me? I wonder how much you had to pay for the same 30k
servicing.

Damn that does sound high. On the other hand I know my dealer's idea
of "recommended 30k servicing" and the factory maintenance schedule's
idea of 30k servicing aren't the same. The dealer adds on services
Subaru doesn't recommend/require. That said, however, the price you
were quoted sounds like a price that would include timing and V belt
replacement, neither of which are required at 30k I don't think.

For what it's worth in Mid 2004 I paid $521 for my 60k service at my
dealer. This included replacing oil, oil filter, fuel filter, spark
plugs, V belt, timing belt, hydro flush of brake system, coolant
flush, tire rotation, and whatever is involved in "transmission and
rear diff service." They called this "service level D 4 cyl" but
dunno if that's universal across Subaru dealerships.

30k service doesn't require the timing belt i'm pretty sure. Dunno
about the V belt. I don't think our engines are terribly
different.

Best Regards,

 

[tenplay]

Damn that does sound high. On the other hand I know my dealer's idea
of "recommended 30k servicing" and the factory maintenance schedule's
idea of 30k servicing aren't the same. The dealer adds on services
Subaru doesn't recommend/require. That said, however, the price you
were quoted sounds like a price that would include timing and V belt
replacement, neither of which are required at 30k I don't think.

For what it's worth in Mid 2004 I paid $521 for my 60k service at my
dealer. This included replacing oil, oil filter, fuel filter, spark
plugs, V belt, timing belt, hydro flush of brake system, coolant
flush, tire rotation, and whatever is involved in "transmission and
rear diff service." They called this "service level D 4 cyl" but
dunno if that's universal across Subaru dealerships.

30k service doesn't require the timing belt i'm pretty sure. Dunno
about the V belt. I don't think our engines are terribly
different.

Best Regards,

The local mechanic performed everything you listed except for the timing
and V belt replacements, which are not required until 60k. At $60/hr
labor, he charged me $120 for labor. If the dealer was going to charge
me for 6 hours at, let's say, $75/hr, the charge would be $450 for
labor. Assuming that the other required services and parts cost more at
the dealer, timing and V belt replacements could not have been included
in their $632 charge. I saw on a tv news special that some mechanics
charge the customer for 6 hours for 2 hours actual labor plus 4 hours
when the hood is up. So when you walk into a garage and notice that the
hoods of 8 cars are up and only two mechanics are working, you can
probably assume that all 8 customers are being charged during that
duration. Probably happens all the time. I'm glad I found an honest
mechanic. Gotta thank my son.

 

[Todd H.]

The local mechanic performed everything you listed except for the
timing and V belt replacements, which are not required until 60k. At
$60/hr labor, he charged me $120 for labor. If the dealer was going
to charge me for 6 hours at, let's say, $75/hr, the charge would be
$450 for labor. Assuming that the other required services and parts
cost more at the dealer, timing and V belt replacements could not have
been included in their $632 charge. I saw on a tv news special that
some mechanics charge the customer for 6 hours for 2 hours actual
labor plus 4 hours when the hood is up. So when you walk into a
garage and notice that the hoods of 8 cars are up and only two
mechanics are working, you can probably assume that all 8 customers
are being charged during that duration. Probably happens all the
time. I'm glad I found an honest mechanic. Gotta thank my son.

Yeah, a lot of shops spec jobs based on what some manual says the
work will take. The estimates of hours tend to be generous to make
up for those jobs that start looking easy but then get very complex
and a pain in the butt, yet they've already quoted a given price and a
given # of hourse.

They charge you for X hours even if the job only takes a fraction of
that. I can see both sides of that, but if you can get a good and
honest mechanic to do actual time and materials, that's better!

Best Regards,

 

[Ron N.]

Yeah, a lot of shops spec jobs based on what some manual says the
work will take.

If the dealers full list price for scheduled service was 3x the hours,
then the dealer could still make money after selling a service plan at
a 50% discount plus paying a commission to the salesman who closed
the deal.


IMHO. YMMV.

 

[y_p_w]

Damn that does sound high. On the other hand I know my dealer's idea
of "recommended 30k servicing" and the factory maintenance schedule's
idea of 30k servicing aren't the same. The dealer adds on services
Subaru doesn't recommend/require. That said, however, the price you
were quoted sounds like a price that would include timing and V belt
replacement, neither of which are required at 30k I don't think.

For what it's worth in Mid 2004 I paid $521 for my 60k service at my
dealer. This included replacing oil, oil filter, fuel filter, spark
plugs, V belt, timing belt, hydro flush of brake system, coolant
flush, tire rotation, and whatever is involved in "transmission and
rear diff service." They called this "service level D 4 cyl" but
dunno if that's universal across Subaru dealerships.

I've got a WRX, and I'm going to push the NGK platinum plugs
to the 60K limit. I plan on doing the coolant myself. I
don't think it requires more than a drain and fill, with
some "burping" that consists of running the engine with the
rad cap open. That's the recommendation on my bottle of
Subaru Long-Life Coolant. I've read some Subaru service
bulletins that recommend using a vacuum flush tool to
evacuate/fill in the non-turbo models. The turbo models
have the upper rad cap at the highest point of the system.
Someone here said that the non-turbo models have the rad
cap at the radiator, and that there could be trapped air
at a higher point.

<http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=66765&group_ID=12500>

The turbo models spec a longer period for the fuel filter.

When 60K comes, I'll probably pay someone to do the plugs.
It's a royal pain to get all the stuff out from a boxer
engine to reach the plugs.

The transmission is fairly easy to service yourself, if
it's a manual. You just need the right tool - a T-70
Torx bit. I'm not too keen on servicing the rear
diff. It looks really strange and I don't want to
break any bones trying to crack open the drain or fill
bolts.

 

[Edward Hayes]

I always use the manual that came with the car to determine what
Subaru says needs to be done. Dealers often time recommend costly
additional services that can add 20-40% more to the required service.
Your manual is your friend and your first line of defense if anyone
starts suggesting not required service. JMO Ed

 

[Mark T.B. Carroll]

I recently had the 30k servicing done by a local mechanic, who was
recommended to me by my son. The reason I called him was that I was
surprised by the $632 + tax price quoted to me by my local Subaru
dealership. Anyway he charged me $220 incl tax. The disparity in
prices is huge. I hope this mechanic wasn't cutting corners, but my car
seems to be running fine. He charged me for two hours of labor whereas
the dealer rep told me that it would take six hours of labor. Is the
dealer price the standard or were they trying to grossly overcharge me?
I wonder how much you had to pay for the same 30k servicing.

I paid the Subaru dealer $600-ish (certainly over $500) for my 2004 WRX
STi's 30k servicing. They indeed took about five or six hours to do the
work.

The final bill was slightly less than first quoted as they figured less
work was needed than normal.

-- Mark

 

[Blair Baucom]

I'm still not happy with my 2005 Forester XS 30,000 mile service.

My original dealer quoted ~$600 and another dealer quoted ~$500.

I decided to give the dealer that sold me the car the chance to do it.

The final charge was around $528 after I had them take the price of oil off
which was part of there deal with free oil with changes for the life of the
car.

They charged 4 hours labor at a little over $100/hour. The rest in parts.

They had the car for under 3 hours after telling me it would be most of the
day.

They charged for 3 bulls**t add on services that wasn't even done, such as
battery service, the caps had not been touched nor the connections.

They were supposed to change the brake fluid, if they did they did it
without removing the cap. They did not charge me for fluid at least. When I
asked they said sometimes they forget to charge for fluid, right.

They were supposed to change plugs, was told when they removed one, they
were platinum, so only needed replacement at 60k. Was told Subaru put in
each 2.5 L what they felt like at the time. I should pull one myself as I
still wonder.

They changed the coolant, at least they charged me for it.

They were supposed to check transaxle fluids and manual transmission fluid.
They changed all three to 80w90 instead of 75w90, so now shifts like
molasses in cold weather. Guess I should change them back to 75w90 and use
synthetic.

Replaced air filter.

Rotated and balanced tires.

Surprised they did not offer to change the cabin air filter, as this would
have been a few more dollars in their pocket.

I asked if they put in the coolant system additive, and they told me now it
only has to be done once at the factory. Odd I have not seen this any where
else either here or the Subaru web page.

If your mechanic did all the things on the service list, then that was a
great deal. I used a dealer due to the spark plug difficulty on this engine,
which weren't replaced, and the special coolant issues with the 2.5L boxer
engine. The dealer did use the special phosphate free Subaru coolant.

I will not be going back to this dealer again ever for parts or service. I
miss the days when I could watch it being serviced and not being lied to. It
is a shame if you have to paint all the bolts and closures just to see if
they actually did the work you are charged for.

In my job, the customer can stand beside me and know what work I am doing. I
recommend getting a invoice of what was done, don't let a dealer do you like
they did me, put on the sheet "30k mile service" as this does not mean much
when each dealer has their own idea of what this means. The only guide I had
was what parts were billed to me.

Blair

 

[Edward Hayes]

According to Subaru the coolant conditioner is supposed to be added at
each coolant change. They are suppose to flush the brake fluid. In
retrospect you did better than some I've heard from though. I am a
DIYer and will until I can't and then I'll find an indepent with a
good reputation.

 

[Clive - Selectron]

It seems that US dealers are all out to
gouge the customer?
Not so in the UK in my 12 years of Subaru
ownership...not cheap but never more than the
book requires and the price is fixed per service
according to which one you need.
Surely you contravene the warranty terms if
the service is carried out by a non-Subaru
dealer?
That's the way it works in the UK.
YMMV


--
Clive P Norris
Managing Director
Selectron (UK) Ltd
Musical Equipment Distribution.
www.espguitars.co.uk
www.emgpickups.co.uk
www.tube-shop.com
www.coreoneproduct.com
www.whirlwindusa.com
www.espshop.co.uk

 

[Todd H.]

It seems that US dealers are all out to gouge the customer?

Seems so.

Not so in the UK in my 12 years of Subaru ownership...not cheap but
never more than the book requires and the price is fixed per service
according to which one you need.
Nice.

Surely you contravene the warranty terms if the service is carried
out by a non-Subaru dealer? That's the way it works in the UK.

I don't think so. For instance, I believe you're free change your own
oil or have it done third party. So long as you can demonstrate the
work was done, I think they'd have a hard pushing back on warranty
claims except if they can point to gross negligence or incompetence in
the maintenance.

I did my major 30k and 60k services at the dealer though. Car's in
today for 90k and 105k services (oops) at an independent though.

 

[Clive - Selectron]

Seems so.


I don't think so. For instance, I believe you're free change your own
oil or have it done third party. So long as you can demonstrate the
work was done, I think they'd have a hard pushing back on warranty
claims except if they can point to gross negligence or incompetence in
the maintenance.

I did my major 30k and 60k services at the dealer though. Car's in
today for 90k and 105k services (oops) at an independent though.

Hi Todd
I would not like to test the warranty issue in court.
It may be different in the US.
Now my WRX is out of warranty I wouldn't
mind trying a non-Subaru mechanic but can't
find one locally and I really think the terrific
service I get (free loaner etc) plus peace of
mind is worth the cost.
How's the bass playing these days?
-C-

 

[Todd H.]

Hi Todd
I would not like to test the warranty issue in court.

Yeah me either. I stuck to the dealer in the warranty period except
for oil changes and one brake job.

It may be different in the US.
Now my WRX is out of warranty I wouldn't
mind trying a non-Subaru mechanic but can't
find one locally and I really think the terrific
service I get (free loaner etc) plus peace of
mind is worth the cost.
How's the bass playing these days?

Infrequent since a bundle of joy entered our world.

 

[Clive]

Yeah me either. I stuck to the dealer in the warranty period except
for oil changes and one brake job.


Infrequent since a bundle of joy entered our world.

I remember those days...all 3 of 'em!
I had to keep playing for the £££s.
Enjoy...before you know it that little bundle
will be asking to borrow the Soobie!!!!
-C-

 

[Todd H.]

I remember those days...all 3 of 'em!
I had to keep playing for the £££s.
Enjoy...before you know it that little bundle
will be asking to borrow the Soobie!!!!
-C-

Hee hee... man, imagine if it lasted that long. Woof.

My band wasn't terribly lucrative unfortunately. If it were, I'd keep
doing it for diaper money!

 

[nobody >]

Infrequent since a bundle of joy entered our world.

A wind instrument that does unattended tuning sessions at 3 AM?

 

[Clive]

A wind instrument that does unattended tuning sessions at 3 AM?

Oh yeah...and throwing up in the bed
just as you roll home from a gig at 4 am
and really *really* need to sleep!
Happy days.
-C-